


Lonely In Love

by inkspottedandbrokenhearted



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: College AU, Family, Fluff, Keith Pining, Lance Pining, Lovers, M/M, Minor Lotura, Minor Shadam - Freeform, Mutual Pining, Pining, Pure, bed sharing, best friend - Freeform, childhood best friends, childhood best friends to lovers au, klance, klance college AU, klance pining, minor adashi, pure fluff, the fic nobody asked for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-07-20 11:13:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16136054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkspottedandbrokenhearted/pseuds/inkspottedandbrokenhearted
Summary: Being in love is the loneliest thing you’ll ever experience if it’s unrequited.Keith and Lance have been in each other’s lives from the very beginning. Neither of them can remember a time where they weren’t together— neither of them can imagine a future apart. They do everything together. They study together, eat together, sleep together,everything. Nobody can find one without the other.As they take on college together, they face a lot of challenges and new experiences. Treading through complicated schedules, new roommates and a campus so big they keep getting lost, they cling to each other tighter than ever, keeping each other sane. With each new obstacle they face, they grow impossibly closer together until it seems like there’s no room left to grow.So what happens when one falls in love with their lifelong best friend? They feel very, very lonely, that’s what. Unless, of course, their best friend happens to love them back.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I _know_ I have two other fics, okay? I know. I can't help myself. I've been wanting to write a childhood best friends fic forever and I finally gave in. I will keep up on my other fics, too, though. I promise!
> 
> As usual, find me on tumblr [here](http://lookingglassheart1207.tumblr.com/) and feel free to give me a follow, shout at me, send me things that remind you of my fics, whatever! I love interacting with you guys!
> 
> (plus if you go to my tumblr you'll find three snippets of things happening in later chapters of this fic... just saying!)

    “Do you think we’ll ever make it to space?”

Keith stirred, blinking against the sleepiness that was wrapping him up. He glanced at the clock on the nightstand: 3:08 am. With a small sigh he shifted, flipping onto his side so he was facing Lance. Even though the room was mostly dark— Lance  _ insisted _ on sleeping with the blinds closed, despite his room being on the second floor— Keith could clearly see his blue eyes staring back at him, wide awake.

“You couldn’t even let me get  _ one _ night of undisturbed sleep?” He grumbled fondly, shifting so his hand was under his pillow. 

Lance laughed, the sound breathy as it filled the otherwise silent room. The boys had been enjoying their winter break back with Lance’s family. It was their last night and Keith had been hoping to get some worthwhile sleep. Every night previous to this they had stayed up too late talking to the family or reminiscing, just the two of them. And every morning they had been woken up early by Mama McClain because she had packed each of their days full of activities.

    This was the only time that Lance’s house was quiet— when everyone was asleep. They had been louder and more boisterous than usual when Keith and Lance had arrived the week before, wrapping them in hugs and asking for every detail of their life. The boys skyped both of their families every week, so it wasn’t like they weren’t updated on what was going on. Still, it was nice that they still cared that much after all these years. Lance’s siblings had come nearly every day to see them, and his niece and nephew stayed the night most nights so they could spend more time with their uncle. 

The boys had been friends for as long as either of them could remember, sharing everything. Keith wasn’t just Lance’s best friend to the McClain’s— to them, he was another family member. He was a son, a sibling, and an uncle. Mama McClain had no hesitation putting Keith to work, even putting his name on the chore list that adorned their fridge when they were younger. There was absolutely no question that Keith would be returning to spend a week with the McClain’s over break. They would’ve taken Keith with or without Lance.

Of course, there was no way he’d return without Lance. The two of them were completely inseparable. They had gone to the same college, after all. They still spent everyday together. It wasn’t uncommon for the librarian— Alfor, was his name— to find them dozing off on their books hours after all the other students had gone home and gone to sleep. And Lance was coming with Keith to visit his family on their next break.

“Are you going to answer my question?” Lance had a habit of doing exactly this— waking up in the middle of the night with strange existential questions. He would always wake Keith up to pose these questions to him, even though Keith never gave the answers he wanted.

It wasn’t uncommon for Lance to be unable to sleep. It had started when they were younger and Lance was plagued by nightmares. Those nightmares led Lance down his pathy of Psychology, which ended up being the best thing for him. Luckily, they left as the boys grew older, but Lance’s habit of staying up late into the night hadn’t. If they were together, Lance would wake Keith up and share whatever was keeping him up. If they were apart, Lance would call Keith. Keith slept with his phone tucked under his pillow so that he would always hear if Lance called. Some nights he could almost predict it— Lance would just act a certain way. He couldn’t describe exactly what it was, it was just that Lance felt a little  _ off  _ or  _ different _ to Keith. On those nights he would wake up instinctively just before 3am and, almost always, a phone call would come minutes later. 

“Lance,” Keith rubbed at his eyes, knowing that they weren’t about to go back to sleep any time soon. “You’re literally studying psychology. I am absolutely certain that you will never make it to space.”

It wasn’t the first time Lance had asked about space— it had always fascinated him. Keith had stayed up with him many, many nights over the years discussing space and everything about it. It also wasn’t the first time they had talked about  _ going _ to space. Lance always asked, even though Keith knew he didn’t actually  _ want _ to go to space. It was one of those things he liked the idea of but would never actually do if given the chance.

“Yeah,” Lance hummed in response, “You’re probably right.”

It was silent for a long moment before Keith sighed, kicking the covers off of him. Lance jumped up immediately, scrambling across the bed and towards the door. It always ended this way when Lance woke him up in the middle of the night. Keith used to fight it, insisting that they stay in their warm bed, but Lance always won. Eventually, Keith stopped fighting it. 

Lance was quietly opening the door, peering down the hallway and listening to make sure nobody was awake. Keith shuffled across the room, digging through his duffle bag that was sitting on the floor just in front of the closet. He quickly tugged two hoodies out of his bag and stood up to follow Lance. They crept down the stairs— sticking to the left side for the first half and then switching to avoid creaking— and paused in the kitchen. Keith could see their destination through the window that was positioned above the kitchen sink.

“Oh,” Lance turned to face Keith, his voice a soft whisper. “I forgot a jacket.”

“I know,” Keith replied, shoving one of his hoodies into Lance’s hands.

Lance took it without hesitation, pulling the blue fabric over his head. Keith pulled on his own red hoodie before they headed to the door. They were lucky that there was no snow on the ground and a hoodie would likely be enough to get them through the little bit of time they were going to spend outside. Lance opened the door slowly, the squeaking of the hinges loudly filling the kitchen. The crept outside, the cold air immediately biting at their cheeks and making Keith feel much more awake. The boys crossed the lawn quietly, both wearing plaid pajama pants— Mama McClain had bought them matching pairs years ago and they had worn them so much that she had gotten them replacements this past christmas— and a hoodie. The grass was cold under their bare feet and Keith tried to hurry. 

The tree loomed above them a few steps later, the rickety rope ladder hanging down and pooling on the ground at their feet. The two of them climbed up the ladder and into the treehouse that had been there for their entire lives. Keith had hundreds of memories in this treehouse. He could remember so many nights just like this, the two of them staring through the hole in at the stars and whispering quietly into the dark night. He could remember years of hiding up here, throwing water balloons down at their siblings. He smiled to himself, thinking of how he could go on and on with memories and that gave him a great sense of comfort and nostalgia. 

    At some point, years ago, Papa McClain had repaired the treehouse so it was safer, successfully making it larger, too. Their niece and nephew were excited because they hadn’t been allowed to use it until it was repaired. Lance and Keith were excited because it made it so that they could still do exactly this— come out in the middle of the night and lay side by side, letting the softness of the world lull them back to sleep.

“Wanna talk about it?” Keith asked as he stretched out, propping his head on one of his arms, the other resting across his stomach.

While most of the time Lance was just up with too many thoughts, the occasion still arose where he was up because something was eating away at him. Usually Keith could tell before Lance even said anything, but he still asked every time just to be sure.

“Nothing to talk about,” Lance hummed, answering Keith’s unspoken question about what was wrong. “Just still amped from seeing our family, you know?”

“Yeah,” Keith replied, “But mom made that pot roast last night so you should be in a food coma.”

“I know,” Lance agreed. “It usually gets me but not this time for some reason.”

“Are you saying she’s losing her touch?” Keith jested, glancing sideways at Lance. He was bathed in moonlight and it reflected in his blue eyes, making them almost look silver. Keith could swear, in the darkness of the night, he could see the stars reflecting in his eyes. It made Lance look ethereal— otherworldly. It made him look like he were some superior being, just spending some down time on Earth. Sometimes Keith liked to think of him that way— it explained his fascination with space. Plus, Lance  _ was _ a superior being, he was the best part of Keith’s life and Keith had no problem admitting that. He could see the slight smile on Lance's lips as he looked up at the stars above. “I'm going to tell her. I'll definitely be her favorite then.” 

“You could never be her favorite.” Lance scoffed. 

Keith turned his own attention to the stars. “I'm already her favorite. She just doesn't want to admit it.” 

Lance smacked him lightly and they both laughed. It was comforting, the way some things never changed. Their first semester of college had been a whirlwind and Keith had spent a large portion of it feeling off balance. But here, with Lance, doing something they had done hundreds of times in their life, things felt okay again. It wasn't that Keith couldn't handle change— he may not  _ love _ it, but he could handle it— but too much change all at once was overwhelming. 

Still, if there had been one constant through the hectic few months, it was Lance. It didn't matter if Keith had a huge test he had spent a week studying for the next morning, if Lance couldn't sleep, he would still be calling Keith in the middle of the night. When Keith lost his dorm key and had to make a new one, he made a second copy and gave it to Lance so that Lance no longer had to wait in the hall for him to get back. It had become tradition, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, that Keith would walk into his dorm to find Lance splayed out across the couch, textbook open on the table and the TV on. Then, when Lance made a copy of  _ his  _ dorm key and gave it to Keith, the tradition expanded and Lance could count on finding Keith at his desk, diligently working every Tuesday and Thursday. 

That had become close with their roommates over the semester and the four of them often hung out together. Hunk, who was Lance's roommate, was probably the kindest person Keith had ever met. His own roommate, Pidge, had the same sense of humor he did and they had spent many nights teasing Lance and laughing together. Lance had said he hated them, but he always came back. 

“When do you want to leave tomorrow?” Lance shifted, flipping on his side so he was leveling Keith with his silvery gaze.

    The drive back to campus was about two hours from their family homes. Lance had driven the entire way home so it was Keith’s turn to drive the entire way back. Even though it was a short drive, they were planning on leaving earlier in the day so they had time to settle back into the dorms and get ready for classes to resume the next day. 

Keith flipped onto his own side, “I'm thinking around noon?” 

“It’s going to be sad to leave.” Lance whispered, reaching across the small space between them to brush a few pieces of Keith’s hair out of his eyes. 

Keith smiled a little to himself, closing his eyes. They had grown up in this neighborhood. His own house was a couple streets over, but his parents were out of town for a few weeks. It was funny how quickly they could go back to feeling at home here. Being away at college hadn’t been as hard as he expected and he attributed that to the fact that he had Lance there with him. Lance  _ was _ home to Keith, so he felt comfortable anywhere Lance was. Still, he had expected to feel different or out of place when they returned to their families, but he didn’t and he was glad.

Lance’s hand had settled against his cheek and he appreciated the warmth of it against the cold air. “Yeah,” He agreed, his own voice a faint whisper, “But we’ll be talking to them again in a few days so it’ll be okay.”

They lapsed into a silence but it was comfortable. No sounds filled the air besides their soft breathing. Keith could feel sleep tugging at his mind again, but the cold air was making it harder to get cozy. He shifted closer to Lance, enjoying the warmth of the other boy. Lance shifted too, scooting closer until they were almost nose to nose, both of their eyes closed. Lance moved his hand from Keith’s cheek and threw it over his torso, his hand brushing gently against Keith’s back. 

“Hey,” Keith opened his eyes just enough to see Lance looking back at him. “If I fall asleep and you don’t, wake me back up, okay?”

Lance smiled back at him softly, “Okay,” he breathed.

Keith closed his eyes again, finally able to get comfortable now that he had Lance to keep him warm. It was only a few moments until he drifted back to sleep. 

 

__.__.__.__.__.__.__.__.__.__

 

“Boys!”

Keith jolted, opening his eyes. Across from him, Lance was blinking sleepily and rubbing his eyes. Sunlight filtered into the treehouse, making the world look soft at the edges.

“Come on, up, up, up!” Mama McClain’s voice sounded from right below the treehouse.

Keith rolled over and peered down the hole in the floor, meeting her gaze. “We’re up!”

She smiled up at him, her expression fond. She had found them in this treehouse many times in the past. Keith remembered the first time it had happened and the way they had scared her half to death. She had entered Lance’s room looking for them, and immediately panicked when they hadn’t been there. They had woken up to her yelling their names frantically. That had been the first of many, many lectures about sleeping in the treehouse at night. And then, just like Keith had over the years, she had just accepted it as something they were going to do. 

“Well, come on then! We’re going to breakfast!” She turned and headed back inside, leaving the boys to themselves.

“We’re going to breakfast,” Keith repeated, turning to look at Lance.

Lance grinned at him, rolling his eyes. “I’m literally a foot away from you, I could hear her.”

Keith shoved Lance, sitting up. He scooted over to the ladder and threw his legs over the edge. “First one to your room wins!”

With that, Keith gripped the opposite ledge and dropped down in one fell swoop. He could hear Lance scrambling behind him, yelling about how it was unfair. Keith laughed to himself as he sprinted across the lawn, throwing the door to the kitchen open. Mama looked at him with a mixture of disappointment and amusement as he slid through the kitchen and took the stairs two at a time, Lance close at his heels. He was out of breath as he hit the top of the stairs but didn’t stop running until he burst through the doorway to Lance’s room.

“I win!” He cried as Lance came through the door a second later.

“You’re a cheater!” Lance remarked, huffing.

The two dropped down onto the bed, both trying to level their breathing back out. Keith could hear the kids downstairs bickering about something and he could hear Mama gently settling their argument. Having five kids— six, counting Keith— had made her a pro at putting fights to rest before they could escalate. She always managed to find a mid ground that satisfied both parties. Keith had always maintained that it was a gift unique to her, but she insisted it was just a thing all moms could do. Keith, having no blood siblings of his own, could never be sure.

“Not my fault you’re slow,” Keith said as he forced himself to stand back up and get dressed. He pulled out a pair of jeans and a red t shirt and laid them on the bed where he had just been sitting. He pulled his hoodie over his head easily, tossing it behind him to where his bag was sitting. He pulled on the new t shirt and started to change his pants, swatting Lance in the leg to get him moving. “We’ll go to breakfast without you if you don’t change.”

“Mom would never leave her favorite behind,” Lance grumbled, standing up finally.

“You’re right,” Keith said as he buttoned up his jeans. “But I’m ready so she won’t have to.”

Lance threw the blue hoodie he had been wearing at Keith, hitting him square in the chest. Keith laughed, catching it and crossing the room to shove it back in his bag with his own clothes. He zipped the bag shut, glancing around the room briefly to make sure he had everything. As Lance continued to dress, Keith popped over to the bathroom to brush his teeth before they left. Lance followed him in a minute later, doing the same thing. As Keith left the bathroom, he took his toothbrush and toothpaste with him, tucking those into his bag too.

Finally they were ready and they headed back downstairs to where the entire family was waiting— all siblings included. The kitchen was filled with loud voices and uproarious laughter and Keith took a minute to feel grateful. He loved his parents dearly and wouldn’t trade them for anything, but he also loved having a big family. He loved seeing everyone talk over each other, gesturing wildly with his hands. There was something warm filling his heart as he looked around the room at his second family.

“Everyone ready to go?” Papa McClain was standing by the sink, arm around Mama’s shoulders as he looked proudly out as his family before. 

The room filled with the sound of affirmations and the shuffling of clothes as they collectively donned their coats and slipped on their shoes. The family moved out the door in a single file line and they all piled into their cars and took off. As Lance drove the two of them to breakfast, Keith smiled to himself. Nobody had ever specified where they were going, but everybody knew. It was a family tradition and an unspoken rule that they always go there whenever it was time for anyone in the family to leave.

Lance and Keith were the first to arrive and they headed inside to get a table for everyone. The restaurant was packed, the way it always was, but they managed to snag a table big enough as soon as they walked in.

“I like this tradition,” Keith said as he sat down next to Lance.

Lance threw his jacket over the back of his chair and then took a seat himself. “Yeah, it’s nice.”

“I wish my family had traditions.” Keith mused.

“First, this  _ is _ your family.” Lance said, smiling at him. “Second, your family does have traditions. That’s why we go to your family every year for Thanksgiving. And we see both families for Christmas.”

Keith didn’t get a chance to say anything back before the rest of the family piled in, taking their seats. Nadia, their niece, took up a seat directly next to Keith while her brother, Sylvio, took Lance’s side. The two of them rambled on, doodling different things on the paper that covered the table top. Keith and Lance both joined them, adding their own doodles enhancing the doodles of the children.

The waitress came and everyone ordered the same thing they always ordered. Keith smiled to himself. The waitress appeared a few minutes later with their drinks, handing them around the table. Once she left and everyone was situated, Papa cleared his throat.

He raised his glass, looking across the table at Keith and Lance, “To our boys who are doing so well in school. We loved having you here for the week.”

“To our boys,” The rest of the family intoned, raising their glasses, too.

Keith raised his glass, clinking it with all the other glasses he could reach, smiling the whole time. He really loved his second family.

 

__.__.__.__.__.__.__.__.__.__

 

Breakfast was over quicker than either of the boys wanted, but everyone had things to get back to. Most of the family had left straight from the restaurant but the boys had returned home. They did a few chores for Mama and ate the nice lunch she had made them. Despite Keith saying he had wanted to leave at noon, he knew there was no chance of that happening.

    Sure enough, by the time they had finished everything, grabbed their stuff and loaded up the car, it was nearly 6:30 in the evening. Mama had gotten tearful saying goodbye to the two of them, hugging them each separately and then pulling them both into a hug together. The boys had barely been able to get out of her grip and leave.

“Oh hey,” Keith said suddenly, drawing Lance out of his thoughts. Lance glanced over at Keith who was behind the wheel of the car. 

Lance reached up and turn the music down a couple notches. “What’s up?”

“Hunk told me about this place we have to try,” Keith said, glancing away from the road for a second to meet Lance’s eyes.

“Why did he tell you and not me?” Lance picked up the bag of gummy bears from the center console, reaching in. “I’m his roommate, not you.”

“We’re both his roommates, really.” Keith responded. “But I was home when he was. You were busy getting lost on campus.”

“It’s not my fault the campus map is confusing.” Lance protested. He pulled out a handful of gummy bears and looked at them, separating them. Keith liked the white ones while Lance liked the red ones. They both would share the others. He picked up the three white bears and reached over, depositing them in Keith’s mouth as he drove.

Keith quickly ate the bears before speaking. “It’s your fault that you haven’t learned how to get from your classes to your dorm after three months.”

“I spend most of my time at your dorm, though.” Lance popped the red gummy bears in his mouth.

“Yeah and you get lost when going to my dorm, too.” Keith laughed as Lance threw a gummy bear at him.

They were almost all the way through their drive back to campus. It had been mostly quiet. Lance was DJ, which normally was fine, but he was in a certain mood and could only listen to certain songs. So the majority of the trip had been spent with him switching songs every thirty seconds and Keith begging him to just let  _ one _ song play all the way through.

“What’s kind of place is it?” Lance asked, grabbing more gummy bears and redirecting them back to their original topic.

Keith took his left hand off the steering wheel and propped it on door. Keith’s hair was disheveled from when they had rolled the windows down earlier— it wasn’t so much  _ they _ as it was  _ Lance _ because Keith hated driving with the windows down. Still, the look suited him and Lance reached out to smooth down a few stray hairs so it looked purposely messy.

Keith glanced at him but didn’t stop him, he never did. Lance was the only person besides their moms who were allowed to touch Keith’s hair. “It’s a build your own pizza place. He said it’s the best pizza he’s ever had and it’s right off campus.”

Drawing his hand back, Lance straightened in his seat. “Well then we should go sometime.”

The lapsed back into silence for the remaining few minutes of the drive. Finally campus came into view and they both sighed with relief. The day had been long they both had to be up in the morning for classes. Keith maneuvered the car around a few turns before parking in front of his own dorn. 

“You want me to drop you off?” He asked before shutting off the engine.

Lance’s dorm was all the way on the other side of campus. It wouldn’t be a long drive, but he was sick of being in the car and he knew that he was completely welcome to just stay the night at Keith’s. “Nah, I’ll go back tomorrow.”

With that, Keith turned off the engine and they piled out of the car, grabbing their bags. They headed up to Keith’s dorm together, letting themselves in and kicking off their shoes.

“Welcome back,” Pidge yelled from the kitchen as soon as the door clicked shut. “How was visiting the fam?”

“It was nice,” Keith replied, trailing down the hallway. “How was your break?”

Pidge’s family lived just off campus so she saw them all the time. Both of her parents were researchers at the university and her brother worked in the nearby town. They were all incredibly kind people, Keith and Lance had met them multiple times. 

“Just a casual week,” Pidge replied. She resembled her brother very strongly, Lance always thought, and she was just as smart as her parents. “How’d mom and dad take the news?”

“The news?” Lance echoed, glancing at Keith who had an eyebrow raised.

“You know, about the wedding.  _ Your _ wedding,” Pidge teased and Lance rolled his eyes. She loved to tease them about secretly being boyfriends instead of best friends, despite knowing that wasn’t the case. 

Lance whacked her arm gently. “Very funny.”

“Someday you’ll be comfortable enough around me to admit it,” She half sang, laughing to herself.

“Sorry, but I’m not sure I’ll ever trust a gremlin.” Keith replied, swatting her other shoulder.

Pidge only laughed in response. “I’m glad you guys are back,” She changed the subject. “This place was lonely without anyone else here.”

“Aw, Pigeon, we missed you, too!” Lance cried.

She frowned at the nickname, “On second thought, I take it back, you guys can leave again.”

Everyone laughed.

They filled each other in briefly about their weeks before finally heading off to bed. Keith went into the bathroom first to brush his teeth so Lance went into his room to change. He opened up the dresser in Keith’s room and pulled out a pair of pajama pants, quickly switching into them and ditching his shirt. He had his own drawer of things at Keith’s place and Keith had his own drawer at Lance’s. This would only fuel Pidge further so they never mentioned it.

Keith wandered back into the room, his hair much tamer. Lance flipped with him, heading to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Once he was done he headed back to Keith’s room and shut the door behind him, flipping off the lights. He padded across the room, knowing the layout of it by heart and plopped down on his half of the bed. Keith had already shut the blinds for him so he was able to slip under the covers and drift to sleep with no hesitation.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so life got a little away from me and the four things I wanted to post tonight will be posted between tonight and tomorrow, hopefully. I have another update coming up for another fic right after this one though. And the other two will likely not be up until tomorrow since I have finals tomorrow and really need to study tonight. 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy!!

    Keith silenced the alarm the moment he heard it go off, jamming it back under his pillow. He felt Lance stir next to him as he stretched.

“Mornin’” Lance’s voice was muffled by the pillow he had his head buried in.

Keith flipped onto his side to face Lance. “Morning.” Lance cracked an eye open and met his gaze. His hair was messy and the comforter was pushed down, exposing most of his chest. “I’m getting up for class. Are you staying here?”

In response, Lance nuzzled his face deeper into his pillow. Keith made a fond noise as he started to get up. His dresser was on Lance’s side of the room, so Keith threw and arm and a leg over Lance, caging him to the bed. In a practiced motion, Lance scooted away from the edge of the bed so Keith had room for his leg. Lance looked up at him with sleepy, half-lidded eyes as Keith finished transferring out of bed.

He could hear Lance adjusting as he pulled open his dresser drawer and grabbed a t-shirt. “I’m going to be cold without you here.”

“You wouldn’t be cold if you actually used the comforter.” Keith retorted.

Lance hummed. “I like you better.”

“Well,” Keith donned his shirt and moved to switch into his jeans. “I have class.”

He could hear the softness in Lance’s voice that indicated that he was already falling back asleep. “But, cuddles.”

Keith grabbed his beanie off the top of his dresser and moved back to the bed, leaning over Lance to pull his phone out from under his pillow. As he went to pull away, Lance grabbed a handful of his shirt, holding him in place.

“Cuddles later,” Keith promised, gently untangling Lance’s hand.

Lance sighed but didn’t protest. Keith brushed a hand gently across the top of Lance’s head as he stood up and slipped his phone into his pocket. He hauled his backpack off the ground and headed towards the door, listening to Lance pull up the covers with a smile.

He stopped briefly in the bathroom to brush his teeth and then headed to the kitchen. He grabbed a bottle of orange juice and a granola bar and set them onto the counter. Lance called him a heathen for drinking orange juice after brushing his teeth. Keith certainly didn’t enjoy the taste of that mixture, but it only lasted the length of one sip and he loved orange juice. Plus, he didn’t drink coffee. Pidge did, thought, and he could smell it brewing. He hated the taste of coffee but he loved the smell.

“Hey,” Pidge walked into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes.

“I thought you didn’t have class for a few hours?” Keith asked as he slipped his beanie on. It was red and blue stripes, made by his mom. She had made an identical one for Lance, too, and the two of them spent most of the winter matching.

Pidge pulled a mug out of the cupboard above the coffee maker. “I don’t, but Matt needs my help.” She groaned at the thought. “You’re lucky you don’t have siblings.”

“I do,” He countered.

She leveled him with her tired gaze. “Lance’s siblings don’t count. You can give them back if you want to. I can’t give Matt back. And trust me, I want to.”

Keith laughed as he slipped his goat on and zipped it up. “No, you don’t.”

“I don’t,” Pidge agreed with a smile. “But I  _ do _ wish he could wait until a reasonable hour.”

“You say that,” Keith said, grabbing his backpack and heading for the door, “But you love it.”

He just barely caught Pidge’s answer as the door closed behind him, “You can’t ever tell him that!”

The walk to class wasn’t long, exactly, but everything seemed long at 7:45 in the morning. Whoever had invented morning classes was Keith’s hero, though, honestly. Lance thought he was crazy for that, refusing to take any class that started earlier than 10am. But Keith liked the mornings, he liked the stillness of the world and the way everything seemed quiet and untouched. He liked feeling like the world was his with nobody there to interfere. Plus, when his day started earlier, it ended earlier, leaving him more time in the afternoon and evening to take care of the things he needed.

A few other students were wandering around campus, all looking at their feet and clearly exhausted. Most of them had coffee cups in their gloved hands. The winter air bit shamelessly into Keith’s exposed skin, making him duck his head a little lower into the collar of his coat. He didn’t know how the temperature wasn’t waking everyone up, but college and the sleep deprivation it caused seemed to defy most logic.

Finally his building came into view and he ducked inside, enjoying the blast of warm air he got when he opened the doors. He pulled his beanie off as he headed down the hall, stuffing it into the pocket of his jacket. He walked into his lecture hall, only a few minutes before the start of class, to find it half empty. He couldn’t help the small smile that came. They had just had an entire week off and  _ still _ people couldn’t be bothered to show up to their morning lectures. He shuffled to his seat a few rows from the front of the classroom. He was attentive enough to sit near the front of class but not social enough to sit at  _ the _ front of the room.

The professor had obviously already been in the room once that morning as the board had their assigned reading written on it. While he waited for the teacher to come back, he pulled out his book and flipped to the pages. They were learning about knees, it seemed. A small smile crept onto his lips as he remembered to their childhood and the time Lance had injured his knee jumping down from the top of the treehouse and landing the wrong way. Mama McClain had been out the back door, yelling, before Lance had even hit the ground. Keith had scrambled down after him, pulling him back into his lap and wrapping his arms tight around Lance’s torso while Mama inspected his knee.

They had been rushed into the car and driven straight to the emergency room where it had been deemed a minor sprain and he just needed rest, ice and some elevation of the leg and he’d be fine. Still, Mama went on a rampage, doing everything within her power to get Papa McClain to tear the treehouse down. He had resisted, thankfully, but it had been a terse few days within the McClain household.

Keith was jarred out his memory as the professor came in and slapped his book onto the desk. Keith reached into his backpack and pulled out his notebook, flipping to an empty page. As he went, he noticed a series of doodles in the corners of the pages he passed and immediately recognized them as Lance’s. Figures, he thought, stopping to look at them. Even when they weren’t together, there was something reminding them of each other.

 

—

 

Lance had fallen asleep relatively quickly after Keith had left and he adjusted the covers, but he didn’t sleep for long. He always slept better with Keith by his side. When he was alone the thoughts that often caused his insomnia seized him. When he was with Keith, those thoughts never even entered his mind. Instead he was able to focus on Keith’s steady, rhythmic breathing— Keith always fell asleep first because he could fall asleep in an instant— and allow that to lull him to sleep.

The bed was significantly cooler without Keith there. Lance stretched, his knuckles brushing against the wall over his head. He was equally used to waking up in his room as he was to waking up in Keith’s room. A moment passed before he finally pushed the covers down, the cold air swirling around him instantly. The worst part of winter was that first moment of getting out of bed in the morning. The second worst part was that first step out of a warm shower.

He hustled quickly to Keith’s dresser. He had his own drawer full of things at Keith’s, which he opened and looked through. He grabbed out a pair of his favorite sweats and switched into those. It was Monday, and the first day back after break, the last thing he cared about was looking nice. He just wanted to be comfortable. In that spirit, Lance switched drawers and picked out one of Keith’s shirts to wear for the day. Keith’s shirts were just a tiny bit bigger and they were always so worn in that they were soft to the touch. To Lance, Keith’s shirt was the epitome of comfort.

Keith had a series of t shirts in every color, giving Lance a lot to choose from. Eventually he settled on Keith’s favorite red one, pulling it over his head. He wandered out of the room, ruffling his hair and trying to get it to lay a little smoother. The dorm was quiet and Lance could only assume that Pidge was also gone for the day. He enjoyed slow mornings to himself. It allowed him to take things at his own pace and not have Keith around, constantly rushing him. 

Like with everything else, they balanced each other out when it came to time management. Lance was incredibly leisurely, never feeling rushed to do anything. If they were late to something, it didn’t bother Lance. Keith was the exact opposite, considering himself late if he didn’t arrive at least fifteen minutes early. Keith had no qualms about nagging Lance relentlessly, urging him to hurry up and Lance had no hesitation in completely ignoring Keith and doing things at his own pace anyways. It worked out, though, because they typically always arrived exactly on time.

Still, on days where Lance had time to himself, he enjoyed the peace that came with taking his own time and not having Keith breathing down his neck. He entered the kitchen and pulled open the fridge, grabbing out some eggs and cheese and set off to make a quick breakfast. Pidge didn’t seem to cook much in Lance’s experience, but Keith liked to cook. Nothing intricate or fancy, but he cooked almost all of his meals— all of  _ their _ meals, really. So all the food in the fridge belonged to Keith which meant that Lance had free reign to all of it.

Lance pulled out his phone quickly, flipping to Spotify and turning on his favorite playlist. He danced a little as he moved through the kitchen, making his breakfast. He considered making some extra and leaving it in the fridge for Keith to eat when he got back from class but decided against it. Monday was Keith’s longest day— he reasoned that he hated Monday’s anyways so he might as well get it over with then instead of ruining another day— meaning that Lance would be back to the dorm before Keith.

He finished making breakfast and washed his pans quickly before sitting down to eat. He knew he was running short on time to make it to class so he ate as quickly as he could. Once done, he dropped his plate into the dishwasher and headed to the bathroom. He brushed his teeth and hair before heading back to the entry. He pulled his coat on before grabbing is own red and blue striped beanie and slipping that over his head, making sure to pull it low enough to cover his ears. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed to class.

 

—

 

When Keith walked into the dorm after a long day of classes, he immediately smelled lasagna and smiled to himself. The dorm was significantly warmer than the outside and it felt amazing against his nearly numb cheeks. He pulled his hat off and dropped it onto the counter right next to Lance’s matching hat. He slung his coat over the nearest chair and trudged into the living room, his backpack slung over only one shoulder.

Lance was laying upside down on the couch, a notebook open in his lap. His legs went up the back of the couch and then all the way up the wall the couch was pressed against, his head dangling over the edge. He smiled at Keith as he approached, turning his head slightly so Keith was less upside-down.

“How was class?” Lance asked as he propped himself up a little.

His face was slightly flushed from the blood that undoubtedly had been pooling there and it matched Keith’s red shirt that he was wearing. Keith noted the shirt with a small smile but didn’t comment. It wasn’t uncommon for Lance to steal his clothes and he didn’t mind seeing the other boy in them. Especially when he wore this shirt— it was nice to see his favorite on his best friend and red wasn’t a color Lance often wore, even if it suited him.

“I have a big test later this week.” Keith plopped down on the couch next to Lance with a sigh. “How much longer on lasagna?”

Lance lifted his phone from the cushion next to him and clicked the screen on, reading the timer that he had set. “About fifteen minutes.”

“Good timing,” Keith replied, “I’m starving.”

“I knew you would be,” Lance dropped his phone back onto his stomach, next to the open notebook. “Tell me about this test.”

Keith was majoring in Kinesiology and he loved the subjects, he really did, but there was  _ so much _ to learn and things all sounded  _ so _ similar. It was nothing but sheer memorization at this point, which he could handle, but it could certainly be time consuming and brain numbing at points. “Anatomy exam on Friday. I have to be able to label the entire body.”

“Easy,” Lance raised his arms above him, using one to point to the other. “What’s this?”

“Your elbow,” Keith replied wryly.

Lance pointed down to his leg, “And this?”

“Your knee.” Lance moved to point to another part of his body and Keith swatted his hand, laughing. “I need to be able to name all the muscles and bones, not the joints, Everyone knows those!”

Finally Lance sat up, swinging his legs around and taking a moment to stabilize himself. “Well you didn’t say that!” Once he seemed steadier, he pointed to his forearm, “What muscle is this?”

“Your suprabicepinator,” Keith replied instantly.

“See? You’ll be fine.” Lance smiled at him.

Keith couldn’t help the laugh that came next, “That’s not a real muscle, Lance. Also there, like, twelve muscles in your forearm.”

“Oh,” Lance glanced down at his forearm and then back up at Keith, “Yeah, you’re doomed then. Sorry man.”

A laugh startled Keith as the oven beeped and Lance stood up to take out the food. His laugh died down as he listened to Lance clanking around the kitchen. The lasagna smelled delicious and he was hungry. Lasagna was one of his favorite winter foods because it was easy to make and warm. Lance didn’t often cook— not that he couldn’t, Keith just typically did all the cooking— so it was a real treat for him to come home to a hot dinner coming straight out of the oven.

He stood and followed Lance into the kitchen, grabbing plates out of the cupboard and setting them onto the counter next to Lance. He noticed for the first time the pan that was on the stove, finishing up some steamed broccoli. “This looks amazing,” he said as he pulled two glasses down and stepped out of Lance’s way. “Thank you.”

Lance shrugged as Keith went and poured milk into both of the glasses and carried them back into the living room, setting them down on the table. He flipped on the tv, flipping to their usual netflix show and plopping down on the couch. Lance appeared a moment later with the plates of food, handing one to Keith who accepted it gratefully. 

They ate in relative silence for a bit, only breaking it to laugh at something in the show or to quote a line as it was being said. The food was delicious and Keith marveled at the fact that Lance made it as good as his mom. It made sense, that’s where he got the recipe, but still. Nobody made food better than moms. 

Once they were finally done, Lance pushed his plate away and turned to look at Keith again. “So, are we studying?”

“I’m studying,” Keith replied, “You’re free to do whatever you want to do.”

“I assume you made flashcards?” Lance asked.

Keith nodded. Flashcards were his go-to for when he had to do just sheer memorization. Repetition was the best and most effective way for him to get something to stick in his brain. Lance held a hand out before him and Keith unzipped his backpack that was sitting against the arm of the couch and pulled out his flashcards, dropping them into Lance’s hand. They spent the next hour like that, Lance butchering the names of almost all of the muscles and Keith not even trying to stifle his laughters at Lance’s attempts. Lance would shove him occasionally, spluttering about how it was different because Keith was taught how to say the names but wouldn’t offer Lance any guidance at all. Still, Lance continued showing him each card, teasing Keith in return when he got it wrong.

That was their dynamic— always teasing each other. It meant that they spent their time constantly laughing with each other and it left them incapable of being embarrassed around each other. The worst that could happen if either of them did something incredibly stupid or embarrassing was that they’d be teased by the other. And since that was a baseline for them, it made it easy to handle and allowed them to just laugh along. It was this fact that made them so close and Keith revelled in the comfort that came with sitting on the couch, late into the night, drinking too much pop and studying with his best friend.

After they had gone through the flashcards a few times, Lance dropped them onto the table, sighing as he nuzzled his head into Keith's neck, one arm looping through Keith's. Keith glanced sideways at him briefly, only to be met with a shrug and, "I was promised cuddles."

"That you were," Keith agreed, resting his head on top of Lance's and letting them fall into synchronized breathing. It was comforting and relaxing to just be close to each other, silently watching tv together. It was the kind of unwinding Keith needed after a long day of classes. 

Finally when it was late enough that they needed to go to bed, Keith stood from his spot and stretched. “You staying?”

“Nah,” Lance headed to the kitchen with their dishes, adding them to the dishwasher. “I need to go back to my place and unpack. Plus my books for class tomorrow are there.”

Keith leaned against the wall as he watched Lance shrug his coat on and grab his beanie off the counter. They gave quick goodbyes and Lance disappeared out the door. Pidge still hadn’t returned home— it was likely she had opted to just stay with her family for the night. The dorm was quiet as Keith got ready for bed and went and laid down. Before he drifted off to sleep he vaguely registered the idea that his bed was too empty without Lance next to him in it. It’d been awhile since he’d slept in it completely alone and he didn’t like it.

 

—

 

Keith awoke a few hours later to the sound of his dorm door clicking open. Before he had a chance to feel alarmed, he heard keys hit the counter and knew instantly who was there. He didn't even bother glancing at the clock on his nightstand because he knew what it would say. Instead, he adjusted himself so he was fully on his side of the bed and listened to Lance kick off his shoes and hang his coat on one of the chairs at their counter. As he heard Lance pad quietly down the hallway, Keith pulled back the covers on his side of the bed so he could come slip right into bed. 

His door clicked open and then closed a second later. His eyes had adjusted enough to the light for him to be able to see Lance, cheeks pink and bangs windswept, as he ditched his shirt and climbed into bed. Even in the dead of winter Lance wouldn't sleep with a shirt on. He claimed he got too warm when he had Keith next to him at night. Keith always shrugged it off. 

“Is it snowing out?” He whispered quietly to the space between them as Lance situated himself on his pillow and tucked his blankets under his chin. 

Normally, if Lance called him in the middle of the night  they would meet in the center of the campus. The tallest building on campus was there and it was typically unlocked so they could sneak up to the roof and lay out there looking at the stars. They had first discovered this by accident— they were on their way home from the library late one night when it had started to rain and they had tried the door to the building simply because they needed cover from the rain. To their surprise it had been unlocked.

As it continued to rain outside the two had wandered through the building and stumbled upon a staircase that led them straight to the roof. They ended up soaking wet still, standing on the roof in the rain and looking out at campus. Keith loved the way streetlights looked in the rain and that was the main source of light on campus at night.

“Yeah,” Lance snuggled a little lower into the blankets. “Already got about an inch.”

“Maybe class will be cancelled tomorrow,” Keith could feel the cold seeping off of Lance. He reached a hand forward, feeling the chill on Lance's skin as he pressed against his bare chest. 

Lance leaned into the touch, humming at how warm Keith was. “That would be nice. We could stay inside and play video games all day.”

“Don’t you have a big project due soon?” The skin under his fingers had warmed so he slid his hand to a new expanse of cool skin. “One that you've barely started?”

“You're right,” Lance stretched briefly under the covers before curling his legs up towards his chest. Keith could feel his knees brush against his own stomach and the way the bottoms of his pants were soaked from the snow. “We should go outside and build snowmen instead.”

Keith couldn’t help the laugh that came as he moved his hand to cup around the side of Lance’s neck. “You’re already a snowman. You’re freezing.”

He could feel as Lance shrugged, briefly holding Keith’s hand between his jaw and shoulder. “I’ll warm up in no time, you know that.”

Silence fell between them, then, but Keith knew that neither one of them was about to fall back asleep. He had a window in his room on either side of the bed, but he was in the habit of closing the blinds every night, even if Lance wasn’t there. He could barely see through the slats in the blinds behind Lance, but what he could see looked like heavy snow. He smiled to himself. He didn’t particularly love being cold, but Keith thought winter was indescribably  beautiful, especially when it snowed the giant flakes that floated delicately toward the ground.

The first time Lance had just showed up in his room in the middle of the night Keith had asked him why. It wasn’t a bad thing and he wasn’t upset, he was just curious. The basis of their dynamic was their ability to constantly question each other without it coming off negatively. Lance had explained that he needed to be with Keith, not just hear him. Keith had accepted that answer without hesitation because it made sense— his need to be near Keith was what had started them meeting in the middle of campus in the first place and sometimes meeting like that just wasn’t feasible.

Lance stirred, drawing Keith out of his thoughts. Their eyes met across the darkness of the room. The flush had left Lance’s cheeks but he still looked awake and so  _ alive _ . Keith wanted to say something but he wasn’t sure what. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable between them— he didn’t think it would be possible for him to  _ ever _ be uncomfortable around Lance— but that didn’t change the fact that he wanted to break it. Something in his chest seized, making him suddenly feel the need to be close to Lance. He scooted closer until Lance’s knees were pressed firmly against his stomach. Lance watched him with his brilliant eyes, but he didn’t say anything.

Instead, once Keith was situated as close as he could be, Lance reached out and brushed the hair out of Keith’s eyes. Keith was and had always been picky about people touching his hair. For the most part, it felt like a demeaning gesture to him. His mom, Lance’s mom, and Lance himself were the only people who were allowed to ever touch his hair. Their moms typically only touched it when they were trying to tidy it, so Lance was the only person who ever actually threaded his fingers into it or played with it. Honestly, Keith wanted to keep it that way. It was something that he shared with Lance and Lance alone and he wanted to keep it an intimate little thing between them. 

“How about a compromise?” Lance said as if they hadn’t just been silent for a few minutes. “We spend the morning building snowmen outside and then we come in and do our homework. I’ll even make us hot chocolate.”

“And what if class isn’t cancelled?” Keith asked.

True to his word, Lance had warmed up already. He was no longer a cold presence in the bed. Instead Keith could feel a warmth radiating off of him. The warmth was comforting and relaxing and he found himself suppressing a yawn as Lance answered. “We skip class and take our own snow day.”

“You’re a bad influence,” Keith murmured, his voice soft in the night. He felt Lance press a little closer to him.

“Yeah,” Lance said quietly. His hand stilled in Keith’s hair, resting against the side of his head. “We balance each other out.”

The faint light filtering through the shades plus the knowledge that it was snowing gave Keith a fuzzy feeling in his chest. He felt warm to his very core and completely content. “We do, don’t we?” He shifted, dislodging Lance’s hand but not moving any further away. “But we can’t take a snow day. We literally just had a week off.”

“Yeah, we had a week off,” Lance responded, “So it’s not like we’ll miss much if we skip a single day.”

“Bad influence,” Keith repeated, but he couldn’t deny he was tempted by the offer.

Every winter they built snowmen together. They liked to play it off as something they did with and for their niece and nephew, but deep down they both knew that they just loved doing it. Lance liked to get really intricate with his snowmen, bringing out jackets, scarves and gloves from inside the house and outfitting the snowman accordingly. Keith preferred to keep his classic with just the face and sticks for arms.

“So,” Keith could hear the edge of sleepiness in Lance’s voice. Lance slept better when they were together, he knew. If they had been on the phone, they would be up for another hour, at least, chatting idly about nothing. But being together brought them both a sort of comfort and made it possible for them to both slip into sleep seamlessly. “Snow day tomorrow?”

He didn’t wait for Keith to respond because he knew what Keith was going to say. As much as Keith tried to be the good influence, he couldn’t deny Lance. Plus, it wasn’t often that Lance suggested something irresponsible anyways. Lance reached under his pillow, pulling out his phone from it’s normal spot. Keith slept with his phone under his pillow so he would be sure to hear it ring if and when Lance called. Lance pressed his thumb to the sensor, waiting only a moment for the phone to unlock under his touch. He quickly pulled up the clock and shut off Keith’s alarm before locking the phone and slipping it back under the pillow.

“Fine,” Keith sighed, settling back into the pillow once Lance’s arm was gone. “Snow day tomorrow. But we  _ are _ getting some homework done tomorrow.”

“Whatever you say,” Lance yawned. “Now would you be quiet? I’m trying to sleep and you’re keeping me up.”

Keith yanked the covers to his side of the bed, uncovering Lance. Lance laughed as he pulled them back, wrapping himself back up. They settled into another silence and let their breathing even out together.

 


End file.
